A good yarn stash is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to knit.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

I sing of garter stitch, glad and big.

I realize that I am probably the very last knitter on the planet to discover the beauty, wisdom, and sheer genius that is Mason-Dixon Knitting (the book). Such is my fate, to be the last person to know about anything new, be it a book or a movie or a war or a technological advancement.

Overall, I'm pretty okay with finding my way to new things in my own time. Part of that is due to a reduction in fun funds (not that we're not making any money, just that we're trying to not spend the money we make in a frivolous manner), and part of that is due to working in a library, at least when it comes to books and movies: "Oh, I'll just look at that when the library buys it." In the case of this book, however, the library didn't buy it until 2 weeks ago and I couldn't wait that long.

I'm making a bag for my good friend Christine, who I've known for -- holy crap -- almost 22 years (I had to call my mom to check how old I was when I started kindegarten). It's going to be a felted bag, and I'm kind of basing it on the Felted Diaper Tote in Knitting For Baby by Melanie Falick & Kristin Nicholas, but with a few changes.

Change #1: I'm using Cascade 220 instead of Classic Elite Montera, because Cascade is plentiful at my LYS and also inexpensive.

Change #2: I'm knitting it all in garter stitch, not seed stitch. Because I value my time on this earth.

Change #3: I knit the big front pocket in the Log Cabin pattern from Mason-Dixon, and the bag very nearly became a Log Cabin Blanket because I am so addicted to this pattern oh my god.

It's so amazingly easy! See these stitches? I picked them up while drunk. THAT'S HOW EASY THIS IS, PEOPLE. Drunken knitting that doesn't require frogging and regret in the morning! I have found my muse!

Behold my brilliance.

Behold the brilliance of the Knit-Lite! These were a Christmas gift from the lovely Femiknitter, who has a pair herself and decided to share the goodness. They are perfect for knitting in the dark, mystifying non-knitters, and entrancing cats. And for pretend light-saber fights. Oh yes.

The finished pocket, with a small border. The front and back of the bag will be the dark purple, so the grey border will help make the pocket stand out, I hope. The bottom picture shows the colors more accurately.

I am in love with Log Cabin and garter stitch, which kind of surprises me. I used to think that garter stitch was boring and "beginner" and unattractive. Obviously, I just hadn't knit much with it. It's so lofty and snuggly, and you can do it while not looking (and also while drunk!). I forsee this pattern/stitch combination being a great baby blanket down the road (in superwash, of course). For now, though, it will be a bag.

And now I have to go rip out the base, because it is three inches too wide. A fact I neatly discovered after knitting five-and-a-half inches into the damn thing.

3 comments:

I love the log cabin thing you've got going! I too have recently rediscovered the joy that is garter stitch. The bag is going to look wonderful, and the felted garter stitch should have some nice texture to it.